The Importance of Enterprise Internal Control And Risk Management to an Organization

What kind of an internal control framework does your organization use? Internal controls must be effective and practical. They play a key role in your company's success. As well, internal controls assist organizations to manage their risks effectively. The first step in establishing a proper internal control risk management system is to determine who is responsible for various duties. The most suitable professionals to hire are accountants and financial experts. All the same, you must know that manual work could lead to costly mistakes being made. The ultimate solution, therefore, is a web-based management internal control toolset.

Why implement and maintain proper internal control management?

The business environment is so volatile these days. Without well implemented and monitored risks and internal control systems, you run the risk of non-compliance issues. As well, you might not meet your operational, strategic and reporting goals. When risk management is great, threats cannot go unnoticed. On the other hand, if internal controls are perfect, your organization could run efficiently, produce accurate and dependable financial statements and comply with the applicable rules and regulations. When you run into roadblocks on a project, risk management can help you seek better alternatives. This can encourage innovation and timely decision making.

About software

The importance of using software cannot be emphasized enough. It provides the current status of all financial and internal controls within an organization. Hence, it gives the managers assurance that risks are cleverly and properly mitigated and controlled. The best software tool should follow the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework of 2013. As well, it should operate in total compliance with the Institute of Internal Auditors, IIA, standards.

The chief role of this online-based observations tracking system is to create a store for controls and risks. Then, it creates an escalation matrix and a self-assessment survey and checks the whole set of controls your organization has put in place. Above all, the system creates a report showing the operational effectiveness of all controls. This report could help the top management to make better decisions.

How to ensure success

Software tools are run by humans. As a result, getting only the best software is a job half-way done. The right thing to do would be to get the software and persons who are conversant with how it works. A professional who is a Certified Public Accountant is ideal, as they have adequate auditing knowledge and internal control and risk management skills. During their education, CPAs are taught how to identify internal controls to put in place in order to protect assets. Also, they are trained on how to monitor those controls and make proper recommendations. If they are also certified Bank Auditors and Certified Financial Planners, the professionals can make great use of any web-based risk management and internal controls software.

Conclusion

Big data is currently having a big impact on business performance and trends. If used effectively, big data can be a precious tool. On the contrary, if big data is used improperly or applied in an organization that lacks proper internal financial controls, it can be dangerous. Thus, if you want to take advantage of current technological advancements, such as big data and the cloud, you have to reform your internal controls and manage your risks more effectively.